It’s the start of a new year. I had planned to post about things I’m looking forward to in 2018. But the year’s gotten off to kind of a rough start. We had a death in my family earlier this week, and it feels like lots of little things have been going wrong on top of that. (For example, I wrote this whole post out yesterday then my web browser crashed before I saved it. Then I knocked a glass off my sink and it shattered in my bathtub. Neither is a big deal, but, just, ugh.)

Nevertheless, even in the midst of bad news both personal and in the news, there are always things going on that bring some cheer or encouragement…

1) One of my favorite things to read every January is the New York Times list of “52 Places to Visit in 2018.” I love learning about new places, and get a little thrill when I see a place I’m planning to go. (I have a trip to New Orleans planned for later this year!) This year, the Times is sending one lucky writer to ALL 52 places! Writer Jada Yuan submitted the winning application to travel the world this year, and will write stories about each of the places on this year’s list. I can’t wait to follow along on her adventures!

2) Friend of GLYandM, face of The Brain Scoop, and all-around shining star Emily Graslie just launched a new podcast, ExploreAStory, which features stories of “people who work behind-the-scenes at natural history museums and the scientists who are making new and exciting discoveries about our world every day.”

3) If you’re looking for a new job in the new year, check out these five questions to ask in an interview. It’s so easy in a job search to focus entirely on getting hired, it’s easy to forget that you should be looking for a job that’s a good fit for you and your goals.

4) On the subject of careers, I’m always fascinated by the relationship between careers and the rest of someone’s life. This essay about how a management consulting career has let the author pursue her other career as a writer for decades. I love how this shows that there’s no one way to pursue something you care about.

5) If you’re hunkering down this weekend- it’s still super cold here- you can check out The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series, for FREE on Amazon this weekend. Rachel Brosnahan plays a young woman who launches a stand-up comedy career in the late 1950s by being blunt, incisive, and, most of all, herself.

6) Even if you didn’t catch Oprah’s speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday, you’ve probably seen snippets of it or seen quotes from the speech all over Instagram this week. The whole speech is really moving, and worth watching. (I don’t know how the audience wasn’t in tears listening to it.)